If you are regularly watching Prime Time TV Debate Live shows, this article is may to discourage you.
And even if you may be watching such shows, this article may make you aware about certain silent "Secret Statements" now and then being inserted during such shows.
In TV Debate Shows, no debate is going on. There are no rules of debate. A statement is made and then everyone is free to sing his own song.
And even if you may be watching such shows, this article may make you aware about certain silent "Secret Statements" now and then being inserted during such shows.
A twitter friend @kannaniyyer yesterday asked me to write something about these so called "Expert Debates" going on whole day in TV. Hence I am tempted to write this.
Some Views
1) Justice Katju. He said 90% Indian are fools. Perhaps what he wanted say was this that "90% of us need a little training in Critical Thinking." If we ask him about such TV Debates, he may perhaps say that "Many people who watch such TV Debates are fools" This is just my imagination about what he may say.
2) View of A Lawyer friend.: He said that TV Debate Anchors, treat participants of debate as 'Cows". The Anchor will start throwing grass to these experts, will make provocative statements and they will start chewing these statements. And within few minutes, all people who will be watching TV Show, will start chewing the same statements. Our brain will start thinking and certain wrong facts may start entering in our mind.
That is what TV Show Maker want. They want you keep chewing wrong ideas so that you do not get time to think about right issues.
That is what TV Show Maker want. They want you keep chewing wrong ideas so that you do not get time to think about right issues.
PLAYING TO TEMPO OF VIEWERS
In TV Debate Shows, no debate is going on. There are no rules of debate. A statement is made and then everyone is free to sing his own song.
Two OR five persons holding extremely opposite views are pitted together. They immediately start quarrelling and shouting at each other and cutting one another in midway. This catches eye-balls of viewers, which increases TRP of a TV channel.
This is all that counts.
You may like to believe that arguments and national debate on TV Channel are good for country. But here, we must be aware that the aim of TV channel is not to have a logical and sound debate. The Aim of show is to leave debates incomplete, to stir up your minds and to make you believe that you have become more informed by watching this debate. And they hope that next day you will come again to watch similar debate.
That is all they want.
All participants of debate and TV Anchors, are only interested in conveying certain overall image. They are not interested in Debate.
SECRET STATEMENTS
You will notice now and then , the Anchor is inserting statements which are only intended to be heard by some specific audience. For example, his bosses or owners of channels may be watching show. PMO may be watching show. So certain statements are inserted to be heard by such people.
Same way representative of political parties are inserting certain statement, intended to be heard by certain specific political bosses.
Here, I see no debates.
Just keep watching. But also keep your mind open to what you are watching on screen. Do not assume that those who are participating in debates are any expert on any issue. Look for evidence.
Haresh Raichura
8th April,2012
